Gabrielle Giffords Returns to Congress for Debt Ceiling Vote

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) waves to supportive lawmakers as she cast her vote for an increase in the debt ceiling. (Photo by ABC News)

I’ll take this bit of good news on Tuesday.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) returned to Washington, D.C. on Monday to cast a very important vote in the nation’s debt ceiling fight. She voted for the compromise that increases the federal government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit. In total, the House voted 269-161 to pass the legislation.

Besides the historic vote after a long and bitter fight, the real story was that Giffords was making her first appearance in the Capitol as a voting lawmaker since her near-fatal assassination attempt on January 8. That day, she was shot in the head at point-blank range while hosting a “Congress On Your Corner” event in Tucson. She has spent the past seven months recuperating and in therapy in Arizona and Texas.

Lawmakers cheered Rep. Giffords as she walked onto the House floor for the vote. Both Democrats and Republicans rallied around her, clapped, and even stood on chairs to watch the moment.